(Image source from: Hindustantimes.com)

The Delhi High Court has rejected the Congress party's petitions against the income tax reassessment proceedings initiated by the Income Tax Department for the financial years 2014-’15, 2015-’16, and 2016-’17. The court, consisting of Justice Yashwant Varma and Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, stated that the Income Tax Department has gathered substantial evidence that requires further scrutiny under the Income Tax Act. The court also noted that the Congress party approached them at a late stage in the proceedings. The Income Tax Department is expected to complete the reassessment by March 31. On a separate note, the Congress party claimed that all their bank accounts have been frozen by the Income Tax department prior to the Lok Sabha elections. The Delhi High Court had previously upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's decision to not halt the recovery of a tax amount of Rs 100 crore from the Congress party for the financial year 2015-’16. On March 19, the party challenged the Income Tax Department's order to reopen assessment proceedings for the financial years 2014-’15, 2015-’16, and 2016-’17.

The Congress, through its representative in the Congress, contested the proceedings based on the provision outlined in Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, which deals with evaluating the income of individuals or organizations. Singhvi argued that this section would, at most, permit a reevaluation of the Congress' tax records for the years 2017-’18 to 2020-’21. He further stated that the three additional fiscal years of 2014-’15, 2015-’16, and 2016-’17 would be "limited by time constraints." On the other hand, Advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the Income Tax Department, maintained that his client's actions did not breach any legal provisions. He also mentioned that around Rs 520 crore of the Congress' income from 2014-’15 to 2020-’21 had "gone unnoticed during assessment." The court has yet to deliver its verdict on the matter.